Plato conceived this world to be the “diversified appearance of Ideas,” which the soul, having known in a pre-existent state, previous to its birth into this relative sphere, is able to recognize, in some measure, in all things, but, in most instances, in a confused and obscured manner; so that the earthly life is a process of recollection or rediscovery of the essential nature of things. The man who aspires to a higher life, who earnestly desires to become acquainted with his deeper Self and more fully conscious of the…

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Poets have always sung the praises of Nature. The natural world sustains a close relation to the world of Philosophy of pure thought, as an embodiment of ideal visions. In “Music and Morals” Mr. Haweis has described the peculiarly intimate associations existing between the world of Religion the moral sphere, and the world of Music, which embodies emotions. In dealing with deep soul-experiences all terms are hopelessly inadequate to convey one’s meaning intelligibly. Words can only suggest to another person such experiences as he is already acquainted with.The world of…

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The life of the deeper Self is manifested in beauty, truth, goodness and harmony. Through their influence the real Being, which lies beneath every finite, human mask, may be appealed to, until it responds in some degree, at least. The man who has supposed himself to be a mortal creature, obeying the quickening impulse from within, aspires to realize his essential nature, the Divine and Eternal. This is the tale of evolution; as the Divine reaches down to the human in revelation, so the human reaches up to the Divine…

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From time immemorial, seers have recognized an inner Presence with which they could hold communion, and have found in it the source of wisdom, knowledge, power, joy and peace, in fact, of all that is real and enduring in life. In moments of purest spiritual consciousness, when our vision penetrates beyond the barriers of finite thought, and human consciousness blends with the Divine, its existence becomes an axiomatic certainty. The entire outer world, a structure infinitely complex and varied, from a finite point of view, is resolved, in the mind…

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He who avails himself of the advantages offered by every accessible medium of spiritual perception, is certain to find the richest and fullest appreciation of life. Every vision of beauty, every thought of truth, every impulse of good, every aspiration for a larger, more real life, is evidence of the presence of a deeper Self, the infinite, God-self within. One may grow to recognize its presence more clearly by cultivating greater intimacy with nature, a more ardent desire for the real and substantial, a more positive love of right, and…

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Every man’s first acquaintance with the world is made through separate impressions, which of themselves afford no suggestion of relationship. Only as he begins to be conscious of his own individuality or organic unity does he discover unity in the world around him. Perception leads from the many to the one, from variety to unity; expression leads from the one to the many, from unity to variety. To gain the spiritual consciousness, to live “as seeing the invisible,” one must, first of all, be filled with a single, deep desire…

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11.MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLE. In all ages there have lived seers, prophets and men of genius, who have professed to find in life a deep, esoteric meaning, unappreciated and unrecognized by the restless throng of human beings, who crave only amusement or entertainment. Individuals of these rarer types are often accounted eccentric, by their less aspiring fellows, because they are uninfluenced by motives and considerations that appeal to the average man. How one can be serene in the midst of tumult and strife; contented when surrounded by poverty and…

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Every state of consciousness serves as a lens to focus the diffused rays of love and truth upon mentalities that lie within its range. When colored by prejudice and opinion, or marred by flaws of caprice and selfishness, its capacity as a concentrating medium is impaired, for it projects unfaithful and distorted images; but if pure, transparent, and free from the obstructing element of personal bias, the picture it projects is one of ideal perfection. Whenever we live in an atmosphere of spiritual consciousness, we inevitably radiate love and truth…

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Symptoms of disease are due to derangement of the natural functions of the bodily parts. Nearly every person is so sensitive to suggestions from subconscious sources, that any appreciable change in the attitude or relations of the constituent parts of his body, produces, under ordinary circumstances, a corresponding change in his own states of consciousness. Such sensations as pain or sickness are ordinarily due to suggestions we receive from a bodily source. A condition of the body may be the occasion of a mental state, as in the case of…

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Our bodies, then, are reservoirs of expressive energy. They may be made either invaluable allies or obstinate opponents. We may surround ourselves with ” body-guards ” of willing friends or determined foes. If we cherish sentiments of ill-will, resentment, intolerance, ugliness, ” righteous indignation,” restlessness, discontent, fault-finding, self-condemnation or “the blues,” the psychical centers become so charged with the resultant of those emotions, that they will surely react upon us, sooner or later. One may be suddenly seized and overpowered by a malady lurking in ambush in this bodily store-…

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Every psychical center is endowed with both active and passive instincts; it is capable of affecting other centers, and of being affected by them. Each cell, molecule and atom of our bodies, being a psychical center, responds, in some measure, to influences proceeding from other centers. Every human being may regulate and determine, to a greater or less extent, the relations and operations of these inferior centers of his body, not merely by consciously and perpetually exercising control over them, but by awakening capacities latent in them, and inducing them…

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Self-revelation transforms bodily conditions by removing the obstructing element of blind, personal control, and allowing the vital energies free exercise in their normal channels. When one realizes spiritual strength, health, and freedom, the bodily correspondences of those states must inevitably follow. The body is composed of atoms centers of force; force is the lowest aspect of Will, and Will is a phase of consciousness. In the last analysis, every man’s relation to the material world is that of a superior center of consciousness to vastly inferior ones. The general structure…

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Self-manifestation, or realization of our essential nature through the evolution of consciousness, is the supreme end of finite existence. This nature seems to be physical, psychical, or spiritual, according to the quality of consciousness through which it is interpreted. When observed on the sensuous plane, it appears as physical; on the rational plane as psychical; on the intuitional plane as spiritual. Certain material phenomena afford illustrations of the metamorphoses of human consciousness. Every mentality passes through nebulous and chaotic stages of vague subconsciousness on a plane substantially physical in its…

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